Orlando Magic counting on Dwight Howard to lead them home

Orlando Magic

"I try to dominate every night," he has said. "Dominate, go home, put the [Superman] cape on the charger. And then go dominate some more."

He says he even has the word on pieces of paper around his house.

As the Orlando Magic (38-13) begin their post-break march tonight into the postseason, Coach Stan Van Gundy plans on holding Howard to the loftiest standard.

And that's saying something for a 23-year-old center who just returned from playing in his third all-star game and currently leads the league in rebounding and blocked shots.

With point guard Jameer Nelson likely out for the season and the Magic struggling -- they're 5-5 in their past 10 games -- Van Gundy says he needs more.

He needs more from all-star power forward Rashard Lewis and small forward Hedo Turkoglu as well, but it all starts with Howard.

A five-year veteran, Howard has reached the stage of his career where he is judged on whether he can carry a club through rocky times.

"Dwight has it in him. It starts with effort and energy. He has got to dominate every night defensively and on the boards," Van Gundy said after Monday's practice at RDV Sportsplex. "There's nothing any team can do to keep him from dominating."

Van Gundy says Howard "should be looking to lead by setting an example on the floor and what he says to people."

Last season, Howard dominated tonight's opponent, the Charlotte Bobcats, averaging 26.5 points, 19.2 rebounds and 3.2 blocks per game. He has had his way with Emeka Okafor, whom the Magic passed over in the 2004 draft to select Howard.

Howard didn't rule in the first meeting this season, scoring only four points before fouling out in a Magic win in mid-November at Charlotte.

Okafor is still the center, but just about everything else has changed in Charlotte after the Bobcats (21- 31) made two trades this season.

Van Gundy has made some changes in the Magic's offense since Nelson's shoulder injury five games ago. Most involve getting the ball more to Howard and Lewis in the post, with Turkoglu taking over for Nelson as a pick-and-roll player.

"With Jameer being down, we have to step it up and do extra things," Turkoglu said. "We all have to be more consistent. We have to do more as the three main guys and set the tone from the beginning."

Beginning tonight, Van Gundy will make more play-calls.

"We made some changes playing in transition on made shots. I have a little more control," he said. "We've changed some of what we do, added some things, taken some out."

But Van Gundy wants Howard to be the team's constant force.

After Howard recently bullied the New Jersey Nets in a victory -- scoring 30 points and grabbing 16 rebounds -- Van Gundy all but shrugged.

Even he chuckled about the expectations he places on his perennial all-star.

"Because Dwight's got that ability, the bar is very, very high and it's very hard for him to have a performance at both ends that really pleases me," he said. "I don't mean to say that in a bad way, but he's just so talented."